You lay in silence together for a few minutes, just staring up at those dull green lights glowing from the ceiling. You don't know what it is about this moment, but everything feels so ... perfect. There's just the right amount of quiet in the air, a comfortable reticence that doesn't give either of you a need to make conversation. It's just you, Kai, and the lights, and despite its simplicity, its one of the most surreal moments you've ever experienced. 

That comfortable companionship drifts away, however, when you become aware of exactly how close Kai is to you. You don't think you've ever been this close to him, not that you can recall, anyway. You're so close that you can hear him take a breath and see his chest rise when he does it. An inch - no, less - is the only distance that separates your hand from touching his. You start to over think things, wondering whether you should have put more space between you two, wondering whether he'll misinterpret your actions. All these thoughts are scurrying, flying, running through your head, and you almost don't notice when Kai speaks up.

"Do you like them?" He asks you.

"Hm?"

"The stars," he says. "Do you like them?"

You stare up at those glow-in-the-dark stickers once more and try to understand what he's getting at. There isn't really anything special about them, besides the fact that if they weren't there, Kai would have never requested that you stare at the 'stars' with him. So, in that sense, yes. You like them. Very much.

"Of course I do," you reply matter-of-factly. You fold your hands across your stomach and take a deep breath. This floor isn't particularly comfortable. 

Kai doesn't say anything and continues to content himself with the absence of sound. He simply stares up at the ceiling, and you risk a glance at him to see that he looks completely immersed in his thoughts, just as you had been only moments ago. He looks different right now. He looks ... free. You don't know how else to describe it. There's a small, wistful smile on his lips, and his eyes are bright in a way they've never sparkled before. It's different from the Kai you're used to, the Kai that pushes you away. This Kai ... this Kai isn't pushing you away at all. If anything, he's keeping you close.

The problem is, you don't know how long this version of him is going to stay.

"Did you ... like my dad when you met him?" Kai questions you suddenly. 

You consider your choice of words carefully before replying, "I don't know him well enough to find something to dislike."

He chuckles at this, but his grin doesn't reach his eyes. "Most people would say yes without thinking." He turns his head to look at you, and you have try your best not to yelp at the discovery of exactly how near his face is to yours.

"I'm not ... most people," you reply softly. You don't know why you just said that. You wouldn't normally say something so overused. But ... but, you want to segregate yourself. You want to label yourself to him. You want Kai to know that you're not like everybody else. And maybe then, when he knows you're not like all those other people, he'll finally allow himself to trust you.

"No," he murmurs. "You're not."

"And you, Kai?" You ask him, trying to pick up the conversation. "Do you like your dad?"

He looks at you with surprise, obviously not having expected this question. You get the feeling nobody has ever asked him this before. You're proved right when he scoffs, "Of course I do," but the look in his eyes is unconvincing.

"You do," you repeat, but you're staring at him to make a point. He finally sighs, shaking his head lightly.

"Why are you asking me that? Nobody ... nobody has ever asked me that." He stares at you, searching your eyes, and you can't help but look away. His gaze is too strong, too dark. It pulls you in, and you don't want to find yourself helpless. 

You don't know how to respond, so you hurriedly search for the right reply, but the moment passes, and it's too late for you to say something. Your conversation trails off, a momentary lapse in time, and Kai doesn't bother to resume the subject. You get the feeling he doesn't want to, and you're not about to beleaguer him. It's his choice if he wants to talk about his dad. You're just glad that he's even talking to you like this - really talking to you - and intently listening to what you have to say.

"Do you think," he resumes, cutting the silence with his voice, "that I should keep dancing?"

You blink. He's gauging you, and once again, you find you have the inability to quickly respond. You take your time thinking, and eventually, you respond, "You like dancing, don't you?"

"Yeah?" He replies in a tone of so what's your point?

"I don't see why you should stop doing something you like." 

You watch him to see if you've said the right thing, and for a moment, you regret it, because he has the blankest expression on his face. And then, abruptly, he grins. A real grin this time, a grin that touches his eyes, a grin that makes him look happy and beautiful and amazing and just so darn real.

"I should've expected that answer," he laughs, his voice ringing and resonating in all the corners of the room. 

"Well, I'm serious!" You say, smiling. "Why stop at something if you like it so much? What's the point of that?"

"But what if someone doesn't like what you're doing," he mutters, a distant, bitter look in his dark eyes. "What if they hate it?"

He isn't talking about just dancing anymore. There's something else here, and you have the suspicion it concerns his dad. You could respond in an expected fashion, saying what everybody else would say. But Kai ... Kai would want an honest opinion. And you? You're not everybody.

"If they don't like it ... keep doing it."

He gives you a strange look. "What? That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does," you reason. "Maybe they can grow to like it."

"No. That's not possible."

"There's always a chance, you know?" You say. "Always. Even if it's little. Even if it's a 1% chance. There's always a chance. It's just a matter of realizing whether it's there."

Kai raises his head to look at the stars again. "I don't think he'll ever realize it," he whispers.

Kai looks so ... sad. And more than that, he looks like he's given up, long ago, to ever consider there could be a chance, much less notice that its there. He's given up wishing for something good to come along because, in his eyes, 'better' is a time that doesn't exist. It brings you down to see him so frustrated, so you try to liven up the situation by pushing him on the shoulder.

"Don't be so negative," you admonish. He just looks at you like you're being stupid, but you have no intention of being fazed. "Hey. Quit frowning. You look better when you smile."

He just narrows his eyes at you, but there's no ill-intent in it. You feign being insulted and ask, "What? Not gonna smile anymore?"

He pulls away from you, but laughter is once more beginning to tug on his lips. "Can't make me do that."

"Really?" You challenge, sitting up. "You want me to tickle you?"

Kai actually looks afraid at this prospect, which only adds to the hilarity of the situation. He sits up, too, but he wraps his arms around his stomach in an effort to shield himself from you. 

"So you're ticklish," you say, grinning. 

"I'm not," he protests, but his body is still tense, just waiting for you to reach out and touch him in a way so that he's forced to laugh. You by making a face and wiggling your fingers his way. He just glares at your hand, then reaches out and takes it, which is when you resolve to tickle his side. He bursts out laughing, and the atmosphere in the room is too good to stop, too good to end, so you continue to touch him, ticking him until he's rolling on the floor and he's got the happiest expression on his face.

That's it, then. You've managed to make him smile.

"Stop," he manages to pant out, trying to block your hands. "Hey. Stop. No, really. I'm going to tickle you back if you ... " he pushes your hands away and sits up, but because of how hard he's laughing, he can't completely dedicate himself to distracting you. "Aish! You're so frustrating!" He tells you, but he's laughing, and his rejections of your hands are weak. He stands up in an attempt to get away, but of course you stand up too. You make a move to approach him, to give him one final act of amusement, but instead of attempting to stop your antics, he grabs both of your wrists and, with his free hand, boosts you over his shoulder.

"Oh my gosh Kai," you say, getting red in the cheeks. You can't believe he just did that. Kai is carrying you. Kai is carrying you, and you have to admit, you like the view from up here. The ground seems so far away, and the room whizzes by you as he carries you around. You're simply hanging off his shoulders, his arms holding you to him, and you slap his back and tell him to please put you down, but of course he doesn't. He doesn't grant any of your requests, laughing as he walks, and you don't know where he's taking you because your peripheral vision is pretty messed up considering you're upside down.

"Kai," you plead, your hair getting in your face. You try to tuck it behind your ear, but gravity simply pushes it back in your line of sight. You're about to implore Kai again to put you down (even though you don't actually want him to) when he finally sets you on the floor. It takes a while for you to get your bearings, and when you do you realize he's exited the room and placed you in the middle of the hallway.

"See?" Kai is saying, the most wonderful grin on his face. "That's what you get if you tickle me." And with that he turns around and makes a move to reenter the room, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks for coming. I enjoyed our date."